Posts by Ben Silverman

That’s both the elevator pitch and a near-complete description of Rocket League . Built by small independent studio Psyonix and fast becoming a sensation on the PS4 (it’s available for PC as well), the competitive vehicular sports game is, when you boil it down, exactly as straightforward as it sounds.

It’s soccer with cars.

Maybe that doesn’t sound interesting to you. It didn’t to me, but the more time I spent hurling my car into a giant ball in an effort to push it into the opponent’s goal, the more I realized that it’s not just interesting, it’s amazing. Despite its limited scope and the occasional connection issue, Rocket League is one of the year’s best online games.

Why are you smashing your car into a ball? Is it a toy? Life-sized? Is there a driver? Is it a drone car? Is car soccer some sort of futuristic bloodsport for a totalitarian regime?

But when controls work in perfect harmony with the game? Now we’re cooking with grease. And gasoline. And soccer balls. Rocket League ’s precise, responsive, instantly comfortable controls elevate it from a solid competitive car soccer game into a totally awesome car soccer game.

What else can explain the drama surrounding Rory McIlroy PGA Tour ? After spending well over a decade slapping Tiger’s mug on the cover of PGA Tour games, EA Sports decided to switch it up and distance themselves from the ailing pro. I suppose you can’t really blame them. EA’s in the business of selling golf games, so swapping the troubled Tiger for the top-ranked player in the world was a no-brainer. There is no fairer weather fan than a video game sports publisher.

But a mere ten days before EA Sports released their new golf game, McIlroy severely injured his ankle while playing soccer with his pals. It’s bad enough to keep him out of the British Open and possibly impact his ability to contend at the PGA Championship in August, a terrible break for both the young pro and the company hoping his popularity will help sell some golf video games.

Nintendo announced the tragic news in a brief statement, listing his cause of death as “a bile duct growth.”

Iwata’s health had been declining for some time. In 2014, he missed the E3 conference in Los Angeles on advice of his physician. He underwent what was believed to have been successful surgery shortly thereafter.

Iwata’s career began as a developer with Nintendo subsidiary HAL Laboratories, where he worked on popular Nintendo games such as Balloon Fight and Earthbound . He became president of HAL in 1993. Seven years later he became the head of corporate planning at Nintendo proper, a title he held for only two years. In 2002, Iwata succeeded longtime company president Hiroshi Yamauchi to become only the fourth president in Nintendo’s history.

Greatly admired by gamers and peers, Iwata steered Nintendo through some of its brightest days. During his tenure, Nintendo released the DS line of handhelds — the best-selling video game system of all-time — as well as the wildly popular Wii console.

Nintendo of America President and COO Reggie Fils-Aime released a statement Monday:

Activision will pose this bizarre question to gamers later this year when they release the Call of Duty: Black Ops III “Juggernog” Edition, which comes with a working mini-refrigerator.

The fridge is modeled after the Juggernog Perk-a-Cola machines found in the franchise’s popular Zombies mode. It’s pretty sizable, too, holding up to 12 cans of your favorite beverage. It even lights up and plays sounds from Black Ops III , presumably a soldier instructing the fridge to “stay frosty.”

The Juggernog Edition also comes with some Perk-A-Cola coasters, some exclusive downloadable weapons and maps, fancy art cards, a pretty steelbook case to hold the game, a copy of the soundtrack, and a Season Pass granting access to more upcoming content.

The price for all this jazz? A hefty $199, though when you break it down, that’s probably about right. A decent 12-can mini-fridge runs about $80; tack on the $60 price of the game and you’re already at $140. The Season Pass can cost up to $50. Toss in the rest of the goodies and the price isn’t clinically insane.

Call of Duty: Black Ops III releases on November 6 for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

E3 2015 was one of the best shows in years. A current of optimism ran through the crowds roaming the halls of the Los Angeles Convention Center, a palpably positive vibe powered by booth after booth of really good video games. It seemed every company had something worthwhile to show, from big-budget blockbusters to smaller experimental experiences. What’s the next big thing? So many games qualified, it was hard to keep your scoreboard straight.

But for the sake of brevity, I’ve whittled down my enormous list of awesome things to ten. Here’s what really blew me away at E3 2015.

Fallout 4

No Man’s Sky

Star Wars Battlefront

It’s a big year for the far away galaxy, but not just because of that little student film project sneaking into theaters this holiday. Star Wars: Battlefront returns in 2015, bringing with it epic multiplayer battles set on Hoth, Tatooine, Endor, and other famous locations. It’s looking great, perfectly nailing the look and feel of the universe and delivering fast, chaotic action.

The problem with trying to review The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is that it requires you to stop playing The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt long enough to write a review.

This is not easy.

It’s The Lord of the Rings by way of A Game of Thrones , an immense, mature, character-driven fantasy that balances its ridiculously long script with plenty of sword-swinging, spell-flinging action. It requires time, patience, and more than a few reminders to your spouse that when she said she would love you unconditionally, it was letting you play The Witcher 3 every night until the crack of dawn for a month that you had in mind.

What makes The Witcher 3 most remarkable, however, isn’t its potential to derail your marriage; it's how the game manages to be both intimate and vast at the same time. A massive, open-world game with a great story? Believe it. The Witcher 3 is one of the best role-playing games in years.

Unfortunately, like most games of this nature, The Witcher 3 can’t quite figure out how to wrap itself up. The third act loses focus, running you around the world in an awkwardly long goodbye.

As revealed during a live event on ESPN’s Sportscenter Wednesday evening, New York Giants wide receiver extraordinaire Odell Beckham, Jr. beat out New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski to become the face of Madden NFL 16 , due out this summer.

“This is mindblowing,” Beckham said. “After playing one year of football and then being on the cover? I’m at a loss for words."

The honor puts an exclamation point on a huge debut season for the agile receiver, highlighted by one of the craziest catches ever. Beckham backed up that one-handed grab with over 1,300 receiving yards and 12 TDs in only 12 games, good enough to score him the league’s Offensive Rookie of the Year award and give him the cred needed to enter the race for the cover.

To complement the cover reveal, EA also debuted the first trailer for Madden 16 . Whereas last year’s game focused on improving the way gamers play defense, the new effort is all about playmaking on offense. Or at least that’s what the press release says, because the trailer’s a little vague:

On Thursday, the company announced a return to profit for the first time in three years. The sales slide of the 3DS handheld family is slowing, thanks to the excellent New variations. The collectable Amiibo toys have been such a huge hit, Nintendo is having trouble meeting demand. And with plans to expand into smartphones and theme parks, Nintendo is aiming to do big things with its big brands.

But they also wedged in this little nugget: worldwide sales of the Wii U currently sit at around 9.5 million.

That’s bad. Really bad. The console was released in November 2012. In two and a half years, the Wii U has yet to break the 10 million mark.

A legendary hero is set to star in the next big Dungeons & Dragons storyline.

Rage of Demons , due out this fall, will let players travel into the Underdark alongside Drizz't Do’Urden, the famous dark elf character created by author R.A. Salvatore. The adventure spans tabletop, console, and computer versions of D&D.

“ Rage of Demons is a huge storyline involving all expressions of Dungeons & Dragons, and we’re excited to bring players this story in concert with all of our partners,” said Nathan Stewart, Brand Director at D&D maker Wizards of the Coast. “I can’t wait to see everyone interact with one of the world’s most recognizable fantasy characters: Drizzt Do’Urden. Descending into the depths won’t exactly be easy for him, and D&D fans will get their mettle tested just like Drizzt when they come face-to-face with all the demon lords.”

At least that’s Disney Interactive’s plan. On Tuesday, the company unveiled that the galaxy far, far away will be the cornerstone of Disney Infinity 3.0 , due out this fall.

The new installment of Disney’s toy/game hybrid is aiming to please every generation of Star Wars fan by offering three different Star Wars-themed playsets. Packed in with the game’s Starter Set ($65) is the ‘Twilight of the Republic’ set, which takes place between Episodes I-III and features Jedi shenanigans with Anakin, Obi-Wan, Darth Maul, and Yoda.

But since Episodes I-III never actually happened – that was just a midi-chlorian induced nightmare, right? – you can fork over extra for the ‘Rise Against the Empire’ set. According to Disney, that one “ take players on galaxy-spanning missions with Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia Organa, Han Solo, Chewbacca and Darth Vader, piloting X-wing fighters or the Millennium Falcon to fight stormtroopers, or exploring and partaking in land-based missions on planets like Tatooine, Hoth, and Endor.” In other words, the good one.